MRS. BARLEY AND HER BROTHER SAVE DEMOCRACY
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We all know Abraham Lincoln : tall, beard, stove pipe hat, ended slavery. But does anyone know Lincoln would never have graced the penny had it not been for a feisty female detective? Kate Warne, the first female detective in U. S. History protected Lincoln before he took office. As a female spy she gathered intel on the south for the northern forces. Kate Warne was a lady like no other, especially when there were no other ladies like her.
Kate Warne was one child among many born to a poor family in Erin, New York. That's really all anyone knows about her past, as well as she was widowed at age 23. Her life, as far as historians know, truly began in 1852 when she entered the office of Allan Pinkerton in response to his ad for detectives wanted. Allan Pinkerton, Scottish immigrant and cooper by trade, (and staunch abolitionist) was elected deputy sheriff in Chicago, then special agent of the U.S. Post Office. He opened a detective agency, the first of its kind in America. No women were allowed near any sort of police work. Hesitant to hire her at first, Warne convinced Pinkerton to put her on staff because by being a woman she could blend into crowds and gather intel. She could also befriend wives, daughters, sisters etc. As a risk-taker himself, he saw a fire of rebellion in Kate Warne. Pinkerton hired Warne and soon came to realize he made an excellent decision.
Warne had dreamed of becoming an actress and flexed her acting muscles by creating various personaes, from Southern Belle to fortune teller. She fit in with both poor and the upper class. Soon after becoming a Pinkerton agent Warne trained other women to become detectives. Pinkerton named her a bureau chief and Warne managed the female Pinkerton ladies branch her entire career. The Pinkertons worked a case for the Illinois Central Railroad with a pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was impressed by Warne and the Pinkerton's skills. These skills came into play, along with Warne's cunning and creativity, in saving Lincoln from assassination.
On March 4th, 1861 Lincoln was slated to give his inaugural address in Washington D. C. But first he would travel by train from Springfield, Illinois to Washington D. C. through the southern states - the states that were pro slavery and unhappy about Lincoln's election as president. Samuel Morse Felton, railroad executive and close friend of Lincoln heard rumblings of assassination plots and warned Lincoln of danger. Lincoln dismissed Felton's fears and insisted he travel on escorted. When Felton called on the Pinkerton agency to assist, Lincoln knew he could trust Pinkerton's intel gathering and protection skills, and agreed to be escorted by Pinkerton and his agents.
Kate Warne was sent to the south to infiltrate upper class society. Calling herself Mrs. Barley, she dined and danced with dangerous angry southerners. Warne took info of assassination plans to Pinkerton and formed a plot of her own. Lincoln would have to change trains in Baltimore, leaving him exposed and vulnerable for a short time. Assassins could easily hide and take shots at Lincoln. But if Lincoln (who was over 6 ft tall, sported a beard and signature stove pipe hat) was unrecognizable, snipers might think they've been foiled before taking shots.
Warne booked a private train car under the name Mrs. Barley and told porters she would be joined by her invalid brother. Then she tipped the porters to ensure privacy. Lincoln changed into a traveling suit and less conspicuous hat. He wore a shawl around his shoulders and kept his head down. Warne escorted him on to the train. As long as they were not disturbed on the train they would be safe. Lincoln rested comfortably, but Warne stayed awake and alert. Pinkerton may have adapted the agency's motto "We Never Sleep" from Warne's vigilance. The pair of reached Baltimore early in the dark of the next morning. Mrs. Barley and her brother boarded the train car that took them to D. C. Lincoln said to Warne that no man before had ever had "so charming and accomplished a female relative."
After foiling the Baltimore Plot, Warne and Pinkerton traveled together, solving cases. At the start of the Civil War Union General McLellan asked the Pinkerton agency to assist the Union. Warne again played the Southern Belle and gathered useful information. Post Civil War Warne continue to work cases in train female agents. Kate Warne died of pneumonia in 1868 at age 35. Pinkerton had Warne buried in his family plot. The 1871 Great Fire of Chicago destroyed the records of the Pinkerton agency, so what little that is known of Kate Warne comes from Pinkerton's memoir. At the time of her death Warne was called the best female detective in America, if not the world. Even if she wasn't the best, Kate Warren was most definitely the first.
SOURCES :
Gormly, Kellie. "How Kate Warne, America's First Woman Detective, Foiled a Plot to Assasinate Abraham Lincoln." Smithsonian Magazine, 29 March 2022.
FURTHER MEDIA ~
BOOKS :
Girl In Disguise ~ Greer Macallister
The Widow Spy ~ Megan Campisi.
Bowlin, Ben / Brown, Noel, hosts. "Kate Warne, the Pinkerton Detective Who Saved Abe Lincoln, Part 2 : To Rescue a President." Ridiculous History, iheartradio, 30 June 2020.
Vogelbaum, Lauren, host. "Ladies' Choice." American Shadows. (Grim & Mild, 27 January 2022.
VIDEOS :
The Baltimore Plot ~ Drunk History
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